Do You Make Appointments to Watch TV?

By Gerard Kunkel
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May 11, 2009

If you’re anything like me, time is tight! I have a very hard time scheduling my life around a particular program on television – much less getting to my son’s soccer game before the final whistle. Sure, I have my favorites programs that I like to watch "live" – but I also have a DVR. American Idol is one of my favorites, but I rarely get to see it when Fox broadcasts its cornucopia of the talented, and not so talented, stars of tomorrow. I’ve seen in our research that there are more and more people chatting on their computers or texting while watching TV. Some of these folks are engaged with their favorite TV programs on the TV and the PC at the same time. Many popular shows are even offering companion interactive experiences. This type of synchronous viewing and interacting is growing in popularity.

One wrinkle struck home the other night when my daughter (who’s away at college) wanted to chat online while watching American Idol. I loved the idea, but could not get to the TV when the show was coming on. Since she does not have a DVR in her college dorm, we were constantly out of sync.

I’m curious. Have you ever had this experience? How would you expect to have a shared viewing experience if you are time-shifting your TV viewing with your DVR? How much are you interacting on your PC with some aspect of the program that you are watching on your TV?